Google marks new artificial intelligence (AI) milestone

Google has marked a new milestone in the development of artificial intelligence. One of the world’s best players of the Chinese board game Go has been beaten by Google’s AlphaGo computer programme. South Korean professional Go player Lee Sedol, an 18-time international title winner, conceded defeat in a match broadcast live, with one YouTube stream watched by tens of thousands of people worldwide, and domestic cable gave frequent updates. AlphaGo, built by Google subsidiary DeepMind, made history in October, by becoming the first computer programme ever to beat a human professional player at the ancient Asian board game. But Lee was considered a much bigger hurdle for a machine to overcome in what many experts consider to be the most complex board game in existence. Go, most popular in countries…